PREVIEW

People walk on the boardwalk as a heavy machine excavator operates right on the sand during peak high tides in Laguna Beach, building up sand berms to act as a barrier against the waves amid urgent coastal defense and reinforcement efforts. The area has been hit by exceptionally high morning and evening tides combined with heavy ocean swells. This has pushed seawater all the way up across Main Beach, flooding sidewalks and spilling onto Coast Highway. In September Hurricane Marie, ripped away massive amounts of sand buffer and forced the city to declare a local state of emergency. Then wave energy from Hurricane Polo hit, and currently, the coastal region is bracing for the remnants of Tropical Storm Rachel. The hurricane waves are arriving at the same time as elevated sea levels caused by high tides and oceanic Kelvin waves.